An Ontario lawyer who faced a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday says he will defend the accusations that he misappropriated about $500,000 from clients and his own law firm before moving to Paris.

Luc Barrick, an Ottawa lawyer who once co-hosted a local radio show, is accused by the Law Society of Upper Canada of misappropriating the money before moving to France, where he says he can get the best care for his health problems.

“France has the best medical facilities in the world for my medical condition. They are experts in hemophilia and this is why I am here,” he said this week by email.

“I did not misappropriate any funds from any clients.”

A law society notice of application alleges Barrick misappropriated $116,321 from his law firm, Barrick Domey LLP, to finance the purchase of a condo in his name, and that between 2009 and 2011, he misappropriated about $58,000 from the same trust account to pay for personal expenses.

The law society alleges that in June 2011, Barrick closed the trust account with no money remaining in it and misapplied $200,000 that Barrick agreed to hold for his clients until the closing of a client’s property sale, and about $71,656 from life insurance proceeds that Barrick held in trust for another client.

The notice details five other examples of Barrick misapplying his client’s money and was sent to an address in Paris.

Michael Souccar, a real estate broker from Ottawa, was one of Barrick’s clients. Two years ago he contacted Barrick to represent him in court.

“He told me that he wanted to represent me, and he had me sign a contract. He said you have to pay $4,000. I paid it and he said he was going to France for one week or so and then he never returned,” Souccar said.

Souccar said he couldn’t afford another lawyer and ended up representing himself.

“My $4,000 is still gone,” he said.

Barrick denies any wrongdoing. He said he planned to attend the hearing in person but he requested an adjournment Wednesday so that he can review his documents and retain legal counsel. The adjournment was granted and he will appear next on May. 1.

“I fully intend to defend these accusations, I fully intend to appear at the hearing, and I fully expect that the hearing will eventually show that there was no misconduct on my part,” he said.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.